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An updated and authoritative account of Australia’s involvement with nuclear power, including the AUKUS nuclear submarine pact. Based on previously classified files and interviews with some of Australia’s prominent politicians and diplomats, the first edition of Fact or Fission? revealed that the nation’s nuclear policies had a chequered history. We sold, and continue to sell, uranium abroad, but rejected plans to build nuclear reactors in Australia. We switched from wanting our own nuclear weapons during the Cold War to giving strong support for a sane international non-proliferation regime. But now the narrative needs updating. Since the attack on the World Trade Centre in 2001, an i...
Under the Rainbow is the life story of E.W. Cole, a colourful and much loved figure of 19th century Melbourne. Best remembered for his Funny Picture Books, his sense of the absurd and his marketing genius, his wonderful arcade was the first 'department store' in Melbourne, replete with a live orchestra, an aviary and monkeys alongside books, ornaments, art, curios and tearooms. But there was more to Cole than his merchandising prowess: he scandalised the clergy with his sacrilegious views about Christianity, campaigned passionately against the White Australia policy, and advocated education for all. Cole's journey from an impoverished sandwich seller on the streets of London to owner of one of the most memorable establishments of early Melbourne is remarkable. His passion for learning, insatiable curiosity, and enduring faith in the essential goodness of humanity make him a figure worth celebrating. More than 100 years after his death, Cole's story is a timely reminder that a little bit of goodness can go a long way.
A Witness to History is a fascinating account of the life and times of Robert Arthur Broinowski. In his quest to learn more about the grandfather he barely knew, but whose legacy affected his own life, Richard Broinowski has uncovered a remarkable man living in a remarkable era of Australia's history. Born in Australia of Polish descent in 1877, Robert Broinowski rose from a clerk's position in the Department of Defence in Melbourne to serve as private secretary to three post-Federation Defence Ministers. As Usher of the Black Rod, he transferred with Parliament to Canberra in 1927 where he played an integral role in the running of Parliament throughout the Great Depression and the start of World War II. Broinowski had a wide circle of literary friends, and served as editor of two poetry magazines, Spinner and Birth. Driven by his ideals and a passionate nature, he was determined to make an impact on society. Twice married, his relationship with the sons of his first marriage was marred by bitterness and hurt. A maverick, an enthusiast and perhaps an unsung hero, Robert Broinowski was indeed a witness to history.
In Australia's rush to commemorate all things Anzac, have we lost our ability to look beyond war as the central pillar of Australia's history and identity? The passionate historians of the Honest History group argue that while war has been important to Australia - mostly for its impact on our citizens and our ideas of nationhood - we must question the stories we tell ourselves about our history. We must separate myth from reality - and to do that we need to reassess the historical evidence surrounding military myths. In this lively collection, renowned writers including Paul Daley, Mark McKenna, Peter Stanley, Carolyn Holbrook, Mark Dapin, Carmen Lawrence, Stuart Macintyre, Frank Bongiorno and Larissa Behrendt explore not only the militarisation of our history but the alternative narratives swamped under the khaki-wash - Indigenous history, frontier conflict, multiculturalism, the myth of egalitarianism, economics and the environment.
'We were all propagandists; the only differences were our goals.' Looking for respite from her crumbling marriage and determined to stop a coal seam gas mine near her Sydney home, filmmaker Anna Broinowski finds wisdom and inspiration in the strangest of places: North Korea. Guided by the late Dear Leader Kim Jong Il's manifesto The Cinema and Directing, Broinowski, in a world first, travels to Pyongyang to collaborate with North Korea's top directors, composers and movie stars to make a powerful anti-fracking propaganda film. The Director is the Commander centres around the bizarre twenty-one day shoot Broinowski did in North Korea to make her documentary, Aim High in Creation! She meets an...
The Yellow Lady is the first major critique of Australian impressions of Asia. Alison Broinowski argues that Australians have been backward in developing an appropriate image of themselves because of their ignorance of and ambivalence towards Asians. She traces the history of Australian ideas about Asia and the Pacific from pre-colonial time to the present, and concludes that some of these perceptions, no matter how irrational or archaic, continue to underlie the political and economic decisions Australians make about the Asia-Pacific region. No one has ever looked so exhaustively at Australian images of Asia. Alison Broinowski, a longtime diplomat and writer about Asian issues, identifies t...
With the disappearance of the imperial structures that had dominated Southeast Asia, newly independent states had to develop foreign policies of their own. But so far few if any of these states have been willing to allow the public to explore any documentation of their activities. Building on his earlier work that drew on U.K. records, the author incorporates material from New Zealand archives -- which also contain reports from Australian and Canadian diplomats -- to provide a historical analysis of the foreign policies of Southeast Asian nations from a New Zealand perspective.
A comprehensive guide to the English language provides detailed and expert information on grammar, style, spelling, vocabulary, and punctuation with clear explanations and example sentences.
This book examines the meaning of the 2003 Iraq war for democratic politics. It shuns simplistic analysis and provides a nuanced and critical overview of this key moment in global politics.
A hard-hitting and readable book which examines Mahathir's character, his ideas and policies and relates them to the social, economic and political setting inside Malaysia. Up until recently, high rates of economic growth and a striking reduction in poverty have been the hallmarks of this vibrant Tiger economy. Mahathir's success has now been placed in jeopardy by the recent economic crisis, and his rule is coming under hostile scrutiny. As one of the most controversial political figures in South-east Asia, Mahathir's success at managing ethnic tensions, policies of industrialization, modernization and foreign policy are explored, as are his grandiose projects, his human rights record and approach to corruption. Milne and Mauzy, leading authors in this field, assess Mahathir's rule within this context as well as the abrupt dismissal from office, arrest and trial of Anwar Ibrahim, Mahathir's deputy, in late 1998.